The painting captures a very specific kind of aristocratic pastoral leisure, and it accomplishes this by insinuating a number of activities without actually showing them. Firstly, while Mr. Andrews holds his gun, he does so comfortably as he leans against a bench, seemingly indifferent to the prospect of hunting. Mrs. Andrews holds a quill, but she is not paying attention to whatever she might be writing, instead choosing to glance up at the reader. The wheat and penned animals insinuate the work of a farm, but the wheat has already been collected, thus further imbuing the image with a sense of relaxation and leisure. Because it is first and foremost a portrait, the painting serves to portray its main characters as hardworking yet not at all focused on the work itself, but rather the enjoyment that comes from its completion. Furthermore, the characters' relationship with nature is a complex one, because although the trappings of a farm and the suppliant dog demonstrate a kind of mastery over nature, the large clouds and extensive countryside in the background insinuate that nature nonetheless remains untamed and infinite (which, it might be said, is where the beauty comes from).
In fact, the curves of bench feet, which mimic the exposed roots of the tree, seem to demonstrate a desire to mirror nature through human production, such that the relationship between humanity and nature is not portrayed as oppositional, but rather complementary. Thus, Mr. And Mrs. Andrews are so content precisely because they have managed to seamlessly blend into the scene, so that although the humans are necessarily the focus of the image, taken as a whole the painting seems to suggest that contentment comes from acknowledging one's position in the context of the larger world.
Of course, this helps to serve an ideological purpose as well, because it makes the case that Mr. And Mrs. Andrews' clearly comfortable lifestyle is the result of some natural force, and not due to the inevitable exploitation of others (perhaps the laborers responsible for collecting the wheat in the first place). By replacing poor shepherds or farmers in a pastoral scene with aristocracy, the painting helps to soften the fact that these people represent the ruling elite, living comfortably at a time when countless others were barely scraping by. Considering this aspect of the painting, one is able to see how the inclusion of Mr. Andrews' gun and the detail of his muscles serves to demonstrate some portion of that social and political power, even beyond the somewhat more fundamental trick of giving a male character a large phallic object so powerful that it can actually kill things. The gun, after all, is passing in between Mr. Andrews' legs, and although the dog is looking up,...
Henry Fielding's Joseph Andrews The protagonists of Henry Fielding's novels would appear to be marked by their extreme social mobility: Shamela will manage to marry her master, Booby, and the "foundling" Tom Jones is revealed as the bastard child of a serving-maid and Squire Allworthy himself, just as surely as Joseph Andrews is revealed to be the kidnapped son of Wilson, who himself was "born a gentleman" (Fielding 157). In fact
.....along, how are you reacting to "Joseph Andrews," on its own? As I am reading along, I am thoroughly enjoying the comedy elements in Joseph Andrews, and the way the plot moves along swiftly. The title character is interesting, in that he is the antithesis of the stereotypical male who cannot resist the charms of a woman and who wants to seduce women. On the other hand, Joseph is the one
.....along, how are you reacting to "Joseph Andrews," on its own? I enjoyed reading "Joseph Andrews" for several reasons. For one, the language is challenging but I appreciate reading the text. Second, I find the content of Joseph Andrews interesting, as it lends insight into the historical and social context of the work. Most importantly, I appreciate the humor in the text, which is more overt and obvious than I expected.
Henry James Scheiber, Andrew J. Embedded Narratives of Science and Culture in James's 'Daisy Miller'. College Literature 21.2 (1994): 75-88. In this article, Andrew Scheiber explores the scientific concepts that lie in the social relationship of the story's characters. Scheiber, perhaps, found that a discussion of this would be appropriate to enable the reader of the novella understand the rationales behind the differences between the story's characters in terms of social relationship. Scheiber
Reynolds and I have been described as exact opposites. I seek to learn my trade by my own hand not at some pretense to any system that is better than nature herself. Reynolds on the other hand seeks to understand art by some compass that is supposed to refine his hand and eye. He is also much keener on watching and learning from other men of letters and this
business culture and expansion trends that exist for American companies within New Zealand. The paper focuses on answering the following questions: 1. What are the major elements and dimensions of culture in this region? 2. How are these elements and dimensions integrated by local conducting business in the nation? 3. How do both of the above items compare with U.S. culture and business? 4. What are the implications for
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